DRC/INDIA: Army Probes Soldiers' Sexual Misconduct

Two long years after charges of “sexual misconduct” were leveled against the Indian peacekeepers deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Indian Army has moved to constitute a court of inquiry to probe the allegations.

The Army probe started on May 24, after the United Nations investigation and preliminary findings confirmed the “involvement” of Indian soldiers with the local women. The UN findings were sent to the Army in the form of a report nearly a year ago, in August 2010. The report revealed that while in deputation in Congo, some Indian soldiers fathered children with local women.

A senior Indian Army officer admitted that “the complaint” was, indeed, “made in 2008”. “Now an investigation is being done following a request from the UN,” the officer added.

Sharing more details, another Army official said: “Soldiers of the Sixth Battalion of Sikh Light Infantry have been allegedly involved and purportedly have also fathered children during the posting.”

It was when the local women raised a stink that the UN sought disciplinary action against the Indian Army officials.

Since then the unit has returned home as part of the half-yearly troop rotation. The inquiry is being conducted at the Meerut cantonment in the Central Army Command. Another source added that the peacekeepers might have hired Congolese girls for sex. This was in violation of the UN code of conduct in Congo which prohibited peacekeepers from soliciting prostitutes. Nearly, 4,554 Indian troops in the UN Organisation Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo--known by its French acronym MONUC - are still posted there. The 22,000-strong MONUC, the largest and costliest UN deployment across the globe, is the only mission where troops can be prosecuted for sex with prostitutes. The act falls within the definition of sexual exploitation and abuse.

This, however, is not the first case of sexual misconduct by the Indian peace-keeping forces deployed for UN duty.

In 2009, a similar case involving Indian troops had evoked severe criticism from the UN, nothing really came of. The probe into the incident is still on.